While he did have a Cyberverse Legion figure, he wasn't the same alt-mode that Crankcase had. And don't get me started on Hatchet. Hasbro didn't feel like making the Dreads from the same alt-mode (ironically they sort of did that with the Twins and the Wreckers but that's due to them having more colors), and even when the Dreads looked different when the models were reused for Berserker (who looked like Crankcase but appeared even less) and Dreadbot (who turned into a Volkswagon bus this time), one of them had a toy that pegwarmed badly and the other never had any merchandise whatsoever. Nonetheless, the figure did return in the Studio Series line as the retooled Crowbar, so let's see how he turned out.
The vehicle mode is a black Chevrolet Suburban, modified with the sirens on top of the vehicle mode. It's the first time the character ever had the alt-mode, and the first time it has ever had that size class. There is a set of Reprolabels from Toyhax that gives this figure and Berserker the extra details that would make them feel more like proper security SUVs. As it is right now, it looks fairly plain save for the sirens and the Decepticon insignia, which unlike Berserker, which uses the Movie style, Crowbar has the normal Decepticon insignia with the bigger eyes. If there is something that ruins the look of the vehicle mode, it's the hinge that's gray where the bottom of the doors are. They disrupt the otherwise all-black shell of the vehicle mode.
Whereas Berserker gave fans the option to store his weapons under his vehicle mode, the option is absent on Crowbar, so instead, you could only display the weapons on the sides of his alt-mode. It's hard to do because of the material of the weapons and how tight the space of the slot is. It's doable but the end result isn't worth it.
While Berserker didn't have this issue, Crowbar has the ends of his dreads stick out of the rear of his vehicle mode. They almost look like they need some cans or balloons and a sign that says "Just Married". Ironically, Sam and Carly were hinting at getting married when Bumblebee gave them "rings" and sang the tune, but I'm getting a little ahead of myself here.
Crowbar's transformation is involved but thankfully not frustrating. You would think the dreads would get in the way, especially with how long they are, but they really don't! The transformation's alright for what it is, but solely because the Dread designs don't utilize many vehicle parts compared to other vehicular Transformers, which makes them almost feel more like they belong in the AOE era of robot appearances.
The robot mode we end up with does look good, yet I feel the posture of the figure doesn't quite capture the look he has. Whereas Berserker can capture the hunched-over posture that the figure that the design he's based on has, I can't quite make Crowbar capture the hunched appearance that he should have.
This isn't a 100% final piece of concept art for Crowbar, but there is a proper posture look that can't quite be pulled off on the figure. Berserker didn't fully stand straight, so he remained hunched over. Crowbar, on the other hand, couldn't do it right.
Here are the side and rear profiles of the figure. This may sound like a nitpick, but I don't like how you can't move the dreads nicely due to how they lack bendy wires, and as a result of being packaged, they're likely going to be stuck in a bend that can't be fixed without using hot water or a hairdryer. As a result, they look awkward in these pictures displayed. Here, they do sort of look like they're flowing if Crowbar was posed running.
From the back? Yeah, the dreads on the top are what happens if you put items like that in the packaging without thinking twice on the dreads being misshapen...
The face sculpt looks solid yet I kind of feel that the sharp teeth of the jaw guard are obscuring some of the details of the face. The eyes and a smaller mouth are there, though.
Crowbar's articulation consists of a double-jointed neck, with a ball joint on the top for the head and a hinge where the torso connects. Shoulders are on a ball joint and also a hinge that comes from the transformation, there is a bicep swivel, and below that is a hinge for the elbow. Whereas Berserker had hands that hinged down, Crowbar has his hinge inward. There is a slight abcrunch joint, and at the hips, there are ball joints, swivels below those, and a bend at the knees. There is a slight ankle hinge due to the transformation, but no ankle pivot.
Crowbar can hold his weapons on his hands, though they don't really stay on there that well. Whereas Berserker had an extra thumb at the bottom, Crowbar doesn't have it for some reason. I find that it helps if you hinge the hands inward so he can have the parts of the vehicle keep the weapons from falling off. Even with that, it's still not a perfect grip.
So Crowbar obviously got made from being a retool of Berserker, so when a new Crankcase was announced, one would expect Crankcase to be a straight repaint of Berserker, right? Well, not in this line. For some reason, Hasbro chose to repaint Crowbar rather than Berserker. Why they chose to do that is beyond anybody's guess. Sure, Berserker shelfwarmed badly, but so did Crowbar (and Crankcase did too), which meant that the worries of a Crankcase redecoed from Berserker shouldn't be life-threatening to anyone. Aside from it being inaccurate, it also meant that the opportunity for a Dreadbot was wasted. I've got NO plans on purchasing this repaint whatsoever. Instead, I'll be showing off a custom Crankcase after I review TLK Berserker.
As it stands, Crowbar's a solid figure with a couple of annoyances that could be fixed in one way or another. The heavy retooling from Berserker is pretty amazing for a Decepticon with little screen time, and it's great that the head isn't the only thing changed. If there are negatives worth mentioning on this figure, it's that the weapons don't stay on the hands too well, the hunched posture is sort of hard to pull off well, and the dreads can't really be bent easily aside from being in the packaging for too long. Get this guy if you want to complete your Mexican standoff, though good luck finding a way to make him hold his guns.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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